Julian Cassell's DIY Blog

Planting hanging baskets does require a bit of ‘technique’ as producing a great display will not only be reliant on choosing the right plants, but also how you arrange them in the basket. Hanging baskets come in many different sizes, and even the smaller options are surprisingly heavy. Therefore, be aware that after the planting has been done, they must be hung from a very well fixed bracket. The sequence below, shows a straightforward, and very effective technique for planting hanging baskets. read more »

Growing blueberries, for most people, is not normally the first idea that comes to mind when thinking about growing fruit in your garden. However, blueberries are one of what are now described as the ‘Superfoods’ because they are highly nutritional and crammed with antioxidants, and therefore it certainly seems a good option to me. Acid soil, suitable for heathers and rhodedendrons, is essential to successfully grow blueberries. read more »

Raised garden beds are excellent options for creating almost instant planting areas, whilst adding further features to your garden. They can be used to grow pretty much anything in, commonly vegetables, but you really don’t need to stop there. You just need to check that you will have sufficient depth of soil for what you are intending to grow. One particular advantage is that you can be very prescriptive on the soil that goes into your beds, read more »

Growing raspberries is truly simple, and it is therefore somewhat surprising that delicious raspberries are not grown more. They really are amongst the easiest fruits to care for and, as they flower late, it is possible to get good crops in areas where other fruits fail. Choose a sunny or partially shaded position to grow your raspberries. Raspberry canes can be planted from autumn through to spring, but avoid planting if the soil is waterlogged or frozen. You don’t need to grow raspberries in beds as shown below, and if space is an issue, you can plant single canes in large containers. read more »

Growing apples is about as simple as it gets if you want to grow some fruit in your garden. Apples are the most popular orchard fruit, and although they prefer rich, moist, well drained soil, they still manage to crop well even in poor conditions. Below are the essential points to take into consideration if you are thinking about growing apples in your garden. read more »